FILM HISTORY EUROPEAN & ASIAN POST-WAR CINEMA

BRITISH POSTWAR FILMS, 1947  1. Movement away from the semi- documentaries of the war  2. Dominated by Ealing comedies a. Lower & middle class milieu b. Location shooting c. Realistic details & settings d. Fast paced action, dialogue, etc. e. Bumbling crooks & policemen f. Social & political themes

BRITISH POSTWAR FILMS, 1947  3. Used non-glamorous British actors (Alistair Sim, Sterling Holloway, Alec Guiness, etc.) & local extras  4. Examples include Hue and Cry (1947), The Little Island/Whiskey Galore (1949), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), The Man in the White Suit (1951), The Ladykillers (1955), etc.  5. The later, more farcical “Carry On” series copied elements

ITALIAN NEO-REALISM, s  1. A reaction against escapist films, focusing on everyday people & "real-life" problems (no big stars, ordinary locales, etc.)  2. Essential theme--conflict between the common person & the social, economic, & political forces determining his/her existence (esp. the difficulty of keeping home & family together)  3. Location shooting important, leading to advances in cinematography; had a 'documentary" look

ITALIAN NEO-REALISM, s  4. Less structured, more improvisational, with an episodic structure  5. Downbeat endings but often humanity reaffirmed despite misery  6. Directors include Roberto Rossellini (Open City, 1945) & Vittorio De Sica (The Bicycle Thief,1949)  7. In 1960s, became more psychological  8. Looser narrative structure (e.g. Antonioni’s L’Avventura, 1960 & Fellini’s La Dolce Vita, 1960 & 8½, 1961)  9. More “new wave” in later 1960s-1970s

1950s ASIAN FILM  1. Differences in types, depending on country  2. "Bollywood" from India--the term for Hindi popular films produced in Bombay a. Very influential in south Asia and other parts of the world. b. Such films usually are long and melodramatic, with numerous songs performed by the cast.  3. Indian filmmaking includes other types, esp. the films of Satyajit Ray (the "Apu" trilogy, etc.)

Asian Film, con’t.  4. The Japanese cinema of Akira Kurosawa influenced by the U.S. & then influenced U.S. films.  a. For example, The Seven Samurai was influenced by Westerns, but then led to a western remake--The Magnificant Seven.  b. His film The Hidden Fortress influenced Star Wars, etc.  5. Some Japanese and Chinese films focus on a medieval time period (e.g. Kurowsawa's Ran and Hero).

Asian Film  6. Hong Kong & Taiwanese film influenced both mainland China & U.S. filmmaking a. Taiwanese focused on how people adjust to cultural conflict & change (e.g. Edward Yang, Ang Lee) b. Hong Kong--artificial & flamboyant, whether gangster stories or fairy tales (e.g. Ringo Lam, John Woo, Ronny Yu)  1. Often have fast-paced editing  2. Blue-collar or ordinary hero  3. Martial arts, wire work, two- handed gun fighting & slow motion bullet

FRENCH NEW WAVE 1954  1. “La nouvelle vague”--a term for films by new directors in 2 groups: a. The Cahiers du cinema group of critic-directors (Chabrol, Godard, Rohmer, Trauffaut, etc.) b. The Left Bank group—more experienced, more serious (e. g. Rasnais, Varda, Malle, etc.)  2. Developed idea of the auteur

FRENCH NEW WAVE, CON’T.  3. Often casual in look, with a playful tone (plus many film-based allusions)  4. Innovative in structure & technique a. disjointed structure, with a mixture of modes (e.g. Comedy & Tragedy), plus B movie plots (influenced by U.S. films) b. handheld camera & location shooting c. Innovative editing, especially use of discontinuous shots & editing techniques such as jump cuts, etc. d. musical interludes